2017 In Review: Chemistry Graduate Student Committee

The CGSC represents the graduate students in Chemistry at MIT and strives to bring students and post docs together outside of the laboratory environment by organizing various social events for the entire chemistry department throughout the year.

Achievements of the 2017-2018 Academic Year

The Chemistry Graduate Student Committee (CGSC) is a student organization that strives to improve graduate student quality of life. The group fosters a sense of community through departmental social events, forums, and intramural sports teams. They host an annual career panel series, where alumni return to campus and share insights from their careers in industry, consulting, law, science policy, academia and others. Lastly, they advocate on behalf of graduate students in regular meetings with the Department Head and Associate Head(s), faculty, Chemistry Department administration and institute representatives.

Community Building Events

In the 2017-2018 Academic Year, CGSC organized a number of events intended to foster a sense of inclusion within the community. The Summer Volleyball League has continued to be a popular departmental event, with participation from 11 teams. Leucine in the Sky with Diamonds pulled off a stellar undefeated record in the regular season, only to imitate the 2007 Patriots and lose in the finals to JACS. Congratulations to the 2017 champions, JACS!

In addition to departmental volleyball, CGSC sponsored intramural basketball, indoor and outdoor soccer, floor hockey, and dodgeball team. This year CGSC went off-campus and sponsored 25 members of the department to compete in the Cambridge Oktoberfest 5K. Our team, Forced Bonding, took in 5th place in a field of 66 teams!

CGSC has continued to sponsor many on-campus events for socialization in the department. They held monthly TGIF events, where attendees could enjoy food and refreshments in the comfort of the Moore Room after a week of work. Monthly Coffee Hours have allowed for a brief pause in the workday to rest and re-energize among coworkers. CGSC hosted their annual boat cruise, Pier Review, as well as an annual end of summer BBQ. They organized an event during Visiting Weekend for prospective students at Flat Top Johnny’s. Other off-campus outings from the past year included Karaoke at Wild Rover, a “Pool Party” at Flat Top Johnny’s, and even a group hike of Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire.

Quality of Life

As part of the Department of Chemistry’s continuing effort to enhance the Quality of Life of its members, the Chemistry Graduate Student Committee collaborated with Women in Chemistry and ChemREFS to present an annual update to the Department of Chemistry Visiting Committee in October.

Academic and Professional Development

In January of 2018, CGSC hosted their annual Career Panel Series, wherein dozens of alumni convened to discuss their respective career journeys with current students and postdocs. They also advised first year graduate students on group selection, and, along with ChemREFS, helped guide graduate students through the oral examination process, even adding a special event for third year oral examinations.